Dynamic contact list

ABSTRACT

A system that can store attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients. The system can also identify a routine based on the stored attributes. The system can also generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine. The system can also output the contact list. The attributes may include identifications of one or more recipients of the plurality of past communications and an order in which the one or more recipients are communicated with from one or more locations of the terminal device during the plurality of past communications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/876,498 filed on Oct. 22, 2007, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to telephones and other telecommunication devices.

BACKGROUND

In telephony and other areas, user devices frequently include a “contact list”, which is a list of shortcuts or identifiers of other users to facilitate an easy connection to the users. For example, telephones typically include contact lists of potential called parties so that the calling party at the telephone can choose one of the contacts to initiate a telephone call to the corresponding called party without having to memorize and dial the telephone number of the called party. Similarly, instant messaging system devices have contact lists or buddy lists so that a user across a network can be contacted without having to know the user's network address or other identifying information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the functionality of the communication system in accordance with one embodiment when generating a dynamic contact list.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Overview

In one example, a system that can store attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients, and identify a routine based on the stored attributes. For example, a system that can store attributes from past phone calls or messages by a mobile device, and identify a routine based on those attributes. The system can also generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine. The generation of the contact list may include querying a database on a server. The system can also output the contact list, such as display the contact list or transmit the contact list to another system to be outputted. The system can also generate one or more reminders according to the routine. Once generated, the reminders can also be communicated to the one or more recipients or to a user interface, such as a display of the terminal device, according to the routine.

The attributes may include identifications of the one or more recipients of the plurality of past communications and an order in which the one or more recipients are communicated with from one or more locations of the terminal device during the plurality of past communications. The attributes may include one or more initiation times of the plurality of past communications.

In one example, the system can include an apparatus that includes a storage device, a processor, and a user interface, such as a display. The storage device can be configured to store attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients. The processor can be configured to identify a routine based on the stored attributes, and generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine. The user interface can be configured to output the contact list.

In another example, the system can include a computer readable medium including instructions when executed by a processor configured to identify a routine based on the stored attributes. The medium can also include instructions when executed by a processor configured to generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine. The medium can also include instructions when executed by a processor configured to output the contact list to be displayed.

Example Embodiments

Various One embodiment is a telephone or other device that generates a dynamic contact list based on current information and user calling attributes such as location, time of day, etc. The dynamic contact list can be a smaller list than a general contact list so that the user can quickly access the most relevant contacts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system 10 in accordance with one embodiment. System 10 includes a telephone 14 that is used by a user 22 and that is coupled to a network 16. Telephone 14 can be any type of telephone that allows a calling party user to initiate a telephone call to a called party. Examples of telephone 14 include a cellular telephone, a Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”) telephone, a Plain Old Telephone Service (“POTS”) telephone, etc. Telephone 14 may include a keypad 17 and a display 18, or any other mechanism that functions as a user interface. Telephone 14 further includes a processor, memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor and for storing other data, and a global positioning system (“GPS”) for determining the geographic location of telephone 14. Telephone 14 further includes software/hardware for performing all needed telecommunication functions, and software/hardware for determining a current time.

Telephone 14 is coupled to a network 16. Network 16 can be any type of telecommunication network that allows a calling party at telephone 14 to be connected to a called party at any location. Examples of network 16 include a wireless cellular network, a wireless local area network, an Internet Protocol (“IP”) network, a Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”), etc., or a combination of different types of networks. In one embodiment, telephone 14 is coupled to network 16 through a wireless connection so that telephone 14 is mobile.

System 10 further includes a server 12 coupled to network 16. Server 12 includes a processor and a memory that stores instructions that are executed by the processor, as well as other data. Server 12, through network 16, is coupled to telephone 14. Server 12 may also be directly coupled to telephone 14 or coupled to telephone 14 using any other method. The functionality of server 12 may also be incorporated within telephone 14. System 10 further includes a called party telephone 30 that can be called by user 22 at telephone 14 when initiating a telephone call or other network connection to a called party.

In one embodiment, telephone 14 or server 12 determine “user calling attributes” of a user of telephone 14 and store the user calling attributes at server 12 and/or telephone 14. User calling attributes may be generated and stored whenever user 22 initiates a call to a called party at telephone 14. One user calling attribute may be, for each call initiated by a user of telephone 14, the geographic location of telephone 14 when the call was initiated, and the corresponding called party. Another user calling attribute may be, for each call initiated by the user of telephone 14, the time of day of the call and the corresponding called party. Another user calling attribute may be the number of times a particular called party is called each hour, day, month, etc. Any possible combination of the above, or any other attribute of a user's call may be considered “user calling attributes” in additional embodiments. The user calling attributes may be stored in a database coupled to server 12 or telephone 14.

The user calling attributes will typically reflect the calling routines of user 22 at telephone 14. For example, a user may: (1) call her family every evening between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on every weekday if she is at work; (2) call her work number or a conference server for a status meeting at the same time in the morning when traveling; (3) call an airline to check the status of a flight every Friday evening and Monday morning, and do this even more frequently when traveling away from her home location; and (4) call her mother every Saturday morning and spouse every evening during workdays. These are all calling routines of the user and are reflected in the user calling attributes which track all calls, or a predefined portion of the calls, based on location, time, calling parties, etc.

Telephone 14 can display a “full” overall contact list on display 18 to make it easier for user 22 at telephone 14 to initiate a telephone call. The full contact list may be an alphabetical list of all contacts that have been stored on telephone 14. Depending on the number of stored contacts, this list can be very long (e.g., greater than 100 contacts) and therefore the user must frequently scroll through a large number of contacts to find the desired contact.

In contrast, in one embodiment, server 12 generates a “dynamic” contact list 24 from the user calling attributes and sends it to telephone 14 for displaying on display 18. Dynamic contact list 24 can be generated and shown on display 18 when telephone 14 is activated by, for example, opening a flip phone, powering on the phone, waking the phone from sleep mode, automatically activating at a predetermined time, etc. It also may be generated and displayed at other times besides at activation. Dynamic contact list 24 in one embodiment is a subset of the full contact list and therefore is much smaller. For example, dynamic contact list 24 shown in FIG. 1 includes five contacts. The smaller list makes it easier for user 22 to select the desired contact. In one embodiment, user 22 can initiate a telephone call to one of the contacts by selecting a contact and hitting a send button using keyboard 17. The content of dynamic content list 24 in one embodiment is the result of system 10 inferring what call a user is likely to make when they activate telephone 14. This inference in one embodiment is based on the user's previous actions or routines.

In one embodiment, the user calling attributes are used to select the contacts that populate dynamic contact list 24. In one embodiment, the user calling attributes are a list of locations from the GPS that user 22 initiates calls from, and for each location the calling parties that are typically called. In this embodiment, system 10 will determine the current location of telephone 14, and generate the list of contacts that are typically called from that location. Dynamic contact list 24 will then display the list of contacts. The contacts will be the most likely contacts that the user would call from the current location, and therefore the most relevant. The user can select a contact from dynamic contact list 24, or can request the entire contact list if the desired called party is not part of dynamic contact list 24.

In another embodiment, the user calling attributes will indicate who the user typically calls at a particular time of day. For example, a user may typically call her spouse at 6:00 p.m. on a weekday when work is over, or a user may typically call work contacts during working hours, and family and friends during non-working hours. In this embodiment, system 10 will determine the current time and generate dynamic contact list 24 based on current time.

In another embodiment, the user calling attributes will indicate an order that calling parties are typically called and system 10 will enable dynamic contact list 24 to be generated based on who user 22 has called recently. For example, a user may typically call their siblings one after another, so after the first sibling is called, dynamic contact list 24 may comprise the remaining siblings.

In another embodiment, the user calling attributes can be used to generate a reminder to user 22 to initiate a call. For example, if the user calling attributes indicate that the user always calls her spouse at 6 p.m., a reminder at 6 p.m. such as a vibration on telephone 14 can be generated to remind user 22 to initiate the call to her spouse. The call may also be automatically initiated, or the potentially called party may be sent a reminder if the call is not initiated, via text messaging, e-mail, or other methods.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the functionality of communication system 10 in accordance with one embodiment when generating a dynamic contact list. In one embodiment, the functionality of the flow diagram of FIG. 2 is implemented by software stored in memory or other computer readable or tangible medium, and executable by a processor. In other embodiments, the functionality can be performed by hardware, or any combination of hardware and software.

At 102, user calling attributes are received. In one embodiment, the user calling attributes are generated for each call initiated on telephone 14 and are stored on server 12 in a database.

At 104, the current information of telephone 14 is determined. The current information can be determined when telephone 14 is activated or at any other time. The current information may include the geographic location of telephone 14, the time of day, the date, the identity of user 22, etc.

At 106, dynamic contact list 24 is generated based on the user calling attributes and the current information. Dynamic contact list 24 is displayed to user 22 who can then select one of the contacts to initiate a telephone call. In one embodiment, the user calling attributes are stored in a database and are queried based on the current information, and the most likely X number of contacts is selected to populate dynamic contact list 24, where X is a predetermined number.

In one embodiment, the storing of user calling attributes and the generation of dynamic contact list 24 is provided by server 12, which can be controlled by a service provider that can sell the dynamic contact list generation as a service to a user of telephone 14. In other embodiments, generation of dynamic contact list 24 can occur on telephone 14 or in some other location of system 10.

As disclosed, embodiments of the present invention generate a dynamic contact list that includes the most relevant contacts for a user of telephone 14. As a result, a user at telephone 14 can easily select the desired contact and initiate a telephone call.

Several embodiments are specifically illustrated and/or described herein. However, it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of are covered by the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.

For example, although telephone 14 includes a display 18 for displaying dynamic contact list 24, a telephone without a display can also be used by, for example, providing an audio list of contacts and allowing user interaction through an Interactive Voice Response system. Further, the dynamic contact list can be used with a device other than a telephone. For example, the dynamic contact list can be a list of contacts for an instant messaging system and the user calling attributes would be instant messaging attributes. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: storing, by a processor, attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients, where the attributes include identifications of the one or more recipients of the plurality of past communications and an order in which the one or more recipients are communicated with from one or more locations of the terminal device during the plurality of past communications; identifying a routine based on the stored attributes; generating a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine; and displaying the contact list.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored attributes include one or more initiation times of the plurality of past communications.
 3. The method of claim 1, comprising: generating one or more reminders according to the routine.
 4. The method of claim 3, comprising: communicating the one or more reminders to the one or more recipients according to the routine.
 5. The method of claim 3, comprising: outputting the one or more reminders to a display according to the routine.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the contact list comprises querying a database on a server.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of past communications include telephone calls.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of past communications include messages.
 9. An apparatus, comprising: a storage device configured to store attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients, where the attributes include identifications of the one or more recipients of the plurality of past communications and an order in which the one or more recipients are communicated with from one or more locations of the terminal device during times of the plurality of past communications; a processor configured to: identify a routine based on the stored attributes; and generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine; and a user interface configured to output the contact list.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the stored attributes include one or more initiation times of the plurality of past communications.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to generate one or more reminders according to the routine.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, comprising: a transmitter configured to communicate the one or more reminders to the one or more recipients according to the routine.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user interface is configured to output the one or more reminders according to the routine.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of past communications include telephone calls.
 15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of past communications include messages.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising: instructions when executed by a processor configured to store attributes from a plurality of past communications by a terminal device to one or more recipients, where the attributes include identifications of the one or more recipients of the plurality of past communications and an order in which the one or more recipients are communicated with from one or more locations of the terminal device during times of the plurality of past communications; instructions when executed by a processor configured to identify a routine based on the stored attributes; instructions when executed by a processor configured to generate a contact list including at least one of the one or more recipients according to the routine; and instructions when executed by a processor configured to output the contact list to be displayed.
 17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, comprising: instructions when executed by a processor configured to generate one or more reminders according to the routine; and instructions when executed by a processor configured to communicate the one or more reminders to the one or more recipients according to the routine.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, comprising: instructions when executed by a processor configured to generate one or more reminders according to the routine; and instructions when executed by a processor configured to output the one or more reminders according to the routine.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the routine includes the order.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the stored attributes include one or more initiation times of the plurality of past communications. 